


Guiding Light

by burbs



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Ocean, F/F, gogglehead!Hikari, headcanon heavy, in which i rewrite 02 with everything being different, kaiseryako AU, situation swap, very loosly following the plot of 02
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 10:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6281719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/burbs/pseuds/burbs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was in the digital world. </p>
<p>She was… free.</p>
<p>She didn’t know whether to feel scared or excited.</p>
<p>“Where are we…?”  </p>
<p>Hikari whips her head to the small voice behind her.</p>
<p>In the mud she wandered into was the nine year old Daisuke looking small, terrified, and unsure.</p>
<p>Terrified, she was definitely terrified.</p>
<p>  ///  02 AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guiding Light

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer that I love 02 and I'm not writing this remake because I hate 02 I just love the idea of kaiseryako and decided to switch everything else around while im at
> 
> I really hope you enjoy my indulgent playing around with the 02 cast! This is probably my first chaptered fic ever but I'm gonna try my best!

 

The ruins toppled over like sandcastles.

With a vicious grin and watchful eye the Kaiser watched the sheer might of her power, of her forces, of her cute black collared army. _Soon_ she thought, soon she would have the power to rule the entire digital world. She watched as Centarumon collapses as he runs from the building falling around him, watched as he was swarmed by her foot soldiers, cute tiny Gostumons that could die like the pawns they were, watched as the digimon flayed helplessly screaming like a pathetic horse, and she watched as the Dark Ring added another recruit to her army.

Centarumon would be a valuable asset in her quest. It had taken almost an hour to capture him and lost her quite a few Gotsumons in the process but the Kaiser had a feeling that he would be worth it. With a sharp click of her six inch heels on the rock face she oversaw the expedition she turned and headed towards the Airdramon awaiting to bring her back to her base.

“Hurry up Hawkmon or I’ll leave you behind to help set up the Dark Tower with the other pawns.” She bites out and Hawkmon gives her a weary look, a sigh, and follows after her ignoring the wrenching feeling in his gut.

Despite what she did Hawkmon would follow this girl into the depths of hell if he had to

As they fly off towards headquarters Hawkmon dared to give one last look at the mayhem he had just witnessed. Centarumon had seemingly fainted from the shock of the dark collar. Five Gotsumon were working to drag the digimon away from the now construction site, the rest of the Gostumon now swarmed the collapsed ruins hastily cleaning up the remains. Rocks breaking rocks…

Hawkmon tore his gaze away.

 

 

 

 

Hikari had been feeling that particular brand of _off_ all day. She’d woken up with the pull she’d almost forgotten in her stomach. It was four am and her brother was still sleeping. The whole family was still asleep. Hikari let out a sigh and went to take a shower and get dressed.

It was peculiar. She hadn’t felt that same pull in the past three years, had almost forgotten what it felt like, and had almost forgotten that it was something she used to feel all the time.

It was peculiar, this pull to another world, this increasing feeling that she didn’t belong in this world.

When she had visited the digital world it had been a traumatic haze of a few days, half of them forgotten when she had gotten sick and the other half blurred with fear. But the thing Hikari remembers the most of her adventure was the unmistakable sense that this was where she _belonged_. Hikari doesn’t like to focus on that feeling too much, she loved her family and she loved her life here, in the world where she grew up. She felt like if she accepted this feeling of belonging then she’d be betraying the life she lived here. So instead she settled for a strong affinity towards the digital world; a distinct protectiveness to the world on the other side of the sky.

Now that Hikari was older she felt more solid than she used to when it came to this pull when previously she had felt almost incorporeal in its might. Now it churns in her stomach as she dries her hair with her towel. She steps back into her room to decide on what outfit she was going to wear today. As she grew older she simultaneously missed and was grateful that she had been allowed to move into their dads’ old study. On one hand she missed having Taichi as her roommate and on the other she was glad for the privacy. She’d gotten her first training bra the other week with her mom and the start of puberty was creeping up behind her to claim her childhood from her.

Hikari put on the training bra and went to her closet and sifted through her clothes. Since she woke up early she had more time to get dressed and felt like dressing cute today. Her hand stopped at an old pink dress she owned, remembering when she wore it to her friends birthday party. A soft smile inched up Hikari’s lip and the pull seemed to subside with the memory. She wonders if the dress still fits her absently as she takes it off the hanger.

Hikari is half tempted to put the dress on when the pull returned, multiplied. The gentle tug in her stomach became sharp and unforgiving and Hikari felt a wave of nausea take over. Soon she’s shivering on the floor holding tightly onto the dress from before.

What was this? Hikari felt like screaming as sweat accumulated on her brow. She was shaking so badly and the pull in her stomach went from nostalgic to _wrong_. Something was wrong and Hikari could feel it.

Eventually the pain subsided and Hikari looks blankly at her dresser from her spot on the floor, taking a few minutes to allow herself to settle back into reality. Heavy breathing fills up the room as Hikari is able to think properly again. She looks at the dress wrapped in her small hands and heaves a heavy breath.

_Something_ was going to happen today and she needed to get ready for it. With more effort than it should take she gets onto her knees and starts sifting through her clothes again. She pulls out a pair of yellow shorts and one of her favorite pink shirts. With a cursory glance at her old clothes she’d grown out of she spots her old light pink handkerchief. With a nostalgic thought he takes that out too.

Looking at her mirror she lets out a huff. She goes to her desk and grabs what she needs. She grabs her book bag and makes sure she has all her homework and textbooks for school today and then she goes through her drawers. She grabs a few bandaids, her new whistle (she had got it shortly after she gave her old one to Tailmon, feeling like she was missing a safety blanket), her camera, her new d-terminal (Koushirou had made ones for all of them after dissecting his own digivice), and most importantly her old digivice. She holds the silvery metal in her hands absently, remembering how it used to turn pink when she needed it most, remembering the comfort she’d felt in that light. She also grabs her old tag and crest, remembering when she first got it, when she first used it (feathers and arrows and grief and death).

Hikari puts the crest around her neck but tucks it in under her shirt; she doesn’t want to deal with any unnecessary questions about it. She shoves the rest of the stuff in her bag and clips the digivice on her shorts. She looks in the mirror and preps herself for her adventure.

Hikari puts on her socks and heads to the kitchen. She sifts through the cupboards for some nonperishables, knowing full well the fear of running out of food, the ache in her stomach and the dizziness in her head, how her body would become more and more lethargic. Emergency food supplies were important.

Hikari looks at the time on her digivice real quick (she had forgotten how useful it had been as a watch), 5:45. Her older brother would be waking up soon to get ready for soccer practice. Mom and Taichi had long since made an agreement that he didn’t need to make him lunch so early in the morning (Taichi had been full of so many excuses not having the courage to say he didn’t like her cooking) giving them both an allowance for their meals.

Hikari already feeling nostalgic heads to the fridge and grabs some eggs, enjoying the idea of making Taichi omurice for once.

Hikari considers telling Taichi about what she felt this morning. She doesn’t know if she should, _she_ knows that she felt something but what if it was a false alarm? What if Hikari just had a stomach ache and was attributing it to something bigger than it was. There was no need to pointlessly worry her brother especially when he was worrying about his upcoming tournament and keeping up with school. Koushirou has been over more and more recently to help Taichi study and even though he’d never tell Hikari she knows that he brother is more stressed out than usual.

Is being a middle school student really that tough? Maybe it’s because he’s taking a sport alongside everything. Her older brother has never been the best student and Hikari knows that if his grades get too low they won’t let him play. Hikari is a bit glad that she’s never been quite strong or healthy enough for sports, her hobbies tending to be more inside that her brothers. Not that she wasn’t sometimes interested in sports but in this point in her life it felt more out of character than anything for her. Hikari was happy taking pictures anyway, capturing moments and leaving evidence of their existence.

Once Hikari is done cooking she wakes up Taichi and smiles while she watches him eat. He sleepily asks if she’s eaten at all and she lies and says yes. In truth her stomach is still reeling and she doesn’t know if she can eat anything currently without throwing up. A part of her knows she needs to eat today especially if something is going to happen but she just can’t bring herself to do it yet. She makes a promise to herself that’d she’d eat something as soon as she gets on break for her classes.

Taichi hurries through his food and getting ready and in a blur he’s off. Hikari smiles by the door before she looks at her own shoes and heads off to school herself.

 

 

 

 

 

The digital world has become a dangerous place. Tailmon shows her fangs to the group of seemingly possessed digimon around her. Deep bitterness settles in the felines gut.

Tailmon has had her fair share of danger in the digital world, never being gifted with the luxury of File Island and until meeting with her partner experienced just how cruel the underbelly of this world could be. When Hikari and the other chosen children had managed to save this world from the ever encroaching darkness and lighten up the unforgiving quality of this world Tailmon had been grateful, no matter how many things she had had to sacrifice for this cause (innocence, friends, love).

And yet here it was being ripped away from her. The dazed eyes of the ones being manipulated to attack her stings the back of her neck, for now at least she would not engage, these little ones were weak and she would most likely end up killing them right now instead of saving them. Her skills had been specifically honed for those purposes anyway; she was only able to become softer when Hikari was around, fragile loving hands making her forget how to hate endlessly.

But it has been three years and the only reminder she has of her companion was this whistle.

So bitterly, Tailmon ran from her pursuers.

 

 

 

 

 

Hikari berated herself, the pull only become stronger throughout the day and it had caused her to space out multiple times to the point that Iori had called her out on it.

Hikari’s picking at her promised snack as she talks to the boy barely being able to pay attention to what he’s saying. “Hikari-san…” Iori pins her down with that look and Hikari smiles back softly. Hikari likes hanging out with Iori, they’re both quiet and the other fifth grader always has something interesting to talk about despite being overtly formal. “Are you doing alright?” he empathizes.

Hikari debates whether she should tell him that something bad is going to happen today, that she’s part of a group of children who save the world, that’s there’s a whole other world pulling at Hikari’s insides and making her nauseous.

Instead she decides to abbreviate, “Mm… Nothing much I’ve just got a stomach ache.” Hikari smiles gently as she puts the sandwich she bought back in its plastic container. She hopes that’ll appease her friends concern but instead Iori’s frown grows.

“A stomach ache? Should we go to the nurse’s office?” Iori presses and Hikari holds her hands out.

“Oh, oh no it’s fine! See look I’m-” Hikari stands up quickly to assure her health but instead a surge of dizziness makes her almost fall over. Luckily she catches her balance and looks at her friend bashfully, “Ahehe, maybe I should go to the nurses office…” She appeases. Hikari’s face feels warm from the embarrassment but she tries her best to take it in stride. Iori smile’s softly up at her from his sit and decides to come with her.

 

 

 

 

 

Takeru was tired of transferring schools. For the past three years because his mom had to move for work he had gone through at least five different schools. At this point he was worried that his education suffering from the inconsistent environment.

Not that he blames his mom or anything, but Takeru is really starting to hope that maybe this will be the last time and he can settle down for more than a few months and make some friends. The only person his age he talks to regularly is Hikari. And as much as he values Hikari as a friend she’s still the little sister of his brother’s best friend. Takeru fiddles with the d-terminal in his hand absently, he’s not sure whether or not he should shoot a message to Hikari, on one hand he’s bored and doesn’t have any friends in his new school yet, on the other if he’s fiddling a weird device instead of trying to make friends then his present situation isn’t going to change much.

So instead of texting Hikari Takeru observes. It’s something he’s gotten good at within the past few years, taking in all the small details in the world around him and cataloguing it. His mom says that her journalism is rubbing off on him. Yamato on one of his visits has called it creepy, his piercing stare making his brother unnerved when left unchecked. He tries not to let that comment bother him, his observation skills has come in handy more than not anyway.

Takeru can’t help but think that despite being an elementary school his new school was incredibly void of any color. The uniforms were grey, the walls were white, everything seemed to fit in neat little stacks and nothing ever stayed out of place for long. Takeru is happy that his mom was able to get him into this prestigious school, but at the same time he can’t help but be perturbed at the facilities seemingly total lack of life or warmth.

Still the students had the liveliness of children, only that it was slightly suppressed under pretention and away from the eyes of the teachers. A lot of the children were from rich families or those that expected a lot from them and a lot of their focus was pinned on their studies so they could get into an even better middle school, riding up the ladder to success through high stress. But as much as the parents pinned their desires on their children they couldn’t suppress their childishness and it bloomed like flowers in concrete in a sort of fascinating way for Takeru. Takeru’s mom wanted him to succeed and worked hard for that and he was always grateful towards her, and luckily despite being placed in this school Takeru was sure his mom would never really be that disappointed in him if his grade wasn’t as great, they were a team after all.

It was like the children were playing a pretend game of grown-up with slips in their acting shining through with mischievous eyes and the idle gossip and silliness.

However there were two students that fascinated Takeru in particular, two that seemed to embody the character the other children were pretending to be and seemed to be devoid of their childlike innocence in a way that terrifyingly reminded Takeru of himself.

Student A was the top of his class with impeccable scores and a fierce gaze. Ichijouji Ken always looked like he had something to prove and was often cold towards his classmates. He had no friends and seemingly because of that seemed to exceed exceptionally at everything he did. He was dedicated and was always reading during his free time. A lot of their classmates called Ichijouji a genius but Takeru instead recognized the signs of a hard worker.

Student B had an unsettling smile and would be in what Takeru would categorize as a genius. Inoue Miyako seemed to ooze brilliance from her pores in a way that was almost creepy for Takeru, something about the girl burned frigidly and in place of Ichijouji’s seeming need to prove himself the older girl seemed to radiate pure resentment towards the world around her.

Many of the students pitted the two students against each other in their head despite their different grade levels, a lot of the students admired both of them and a lot seemed jealous towards them. Takeru had overheard some of his fellow classmates discuss cruel ways they wanted to torment the two of them just so they could see the two students crumble under the pressure. He had commented on how lame that would be but he was unaware of whether or not they had acted on any of their ideas.

Takeru kind of just wanted to avoid them but at the same time they were the most interesting people for the blond kid to observe, especially Ichijouji Ken who sat right in front of him. He sighed as he placed his head in hand idly deciding to stop fidgeting with the d-terminal under his desk and see if anything was happening with the seemingly perfect boy in front of him.

Ichijouji had longish dark hair and impeccable posture and was currently reading a book. It was lunch break and Takeru had long since finished his bento that he’d made this morning but it looks like the other boy had forgone eating at all instead choosing to devout more of his time to his studies. Takeru worried vaguely whether this would cause the other boy to burn out, eating was especially important for growing kids after all. But he kept his mouth shut, the overwhelming aura he got from Ichijouji was ‘don’t talk to me’ and Takeru couldn’t help but obey.

Instead he peeked over subtly to see what Takeru was reading and woah that was some complicated kanji, it looked like he was reading some sort of novel? Takeru leaned a bit further to see if he could see what book it was, curiosity and a bit of inferiority pressing him to learn more, Japanese was after all his forte and the main reason he’d managed to get into this school. Takeru was fully aware of his status as an elementary school student and that his progress in these subjects were better than acceptable, but the fact that his classmate as smart as he was seemed to be reading something almost college level kind of tugged at competitive side of himself that he hadn’t known was there.

“…What.” Subtly peeking apparently wasn’t so subtle and now Takeru was faced with the horrific fact that he’d caught his classmate’s attention. Ken Ichijouji was glaring at him as Takeru was half leaning over his desk. Takeru felt the blood rush to his face in embarrassment and dread. He’d wanted to avoid him after all and now he’d done the exact opposite.

Ah… curiosity really does kill the cat.

 

 

 

 

 

Hikari hates doctors, hospitals, nurses, and all places associated with them. Not that she thinks they’re bad she’s just frustrated with how often she ends up there. Hikari feels like pouting, she thought she had been getting better, less weak, less of a burden to everyone…

Iori waves goodbye as he heads out to class and she sighs. It’s not like she’s actually sick this time either, it’s just how the digital world seems to… call for her.

She laughs softly as she allows herself to doze off in her bed listening to the school nurse fiddle around their office; some rest would probably do her good anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

Motimiya Daisuke was having a very good day. He’d gotten a good grade on his test that Hikari-sempai had helped him with on studying for the other day, he’d scored a lot of points when playing soccer with his friends during lunch, made his whole class laugh with a joke he made, and now he was going to go see his beloved Hikari-sempai! In Daisuke’s book any day he got to see his upperclassman was a good day but today was even better because he got to show off to her while he was at it! He was so proud of himself he was positively bursting with energy! The third grader skipped down the hallway after class to Hikari’s class full of excitement completely unafraid of the towering fifth graders around him. The older students barely spared him a glance, Daisuke had become a regular face in these parts since he’d fallen for Hikari and most of the students found it cute more than anything.

“Hikari-sempai! Look at this!” He practically yelled as he slammed open the door. It was after school and the other students were packing up to go home or head to clubs and this was the usual time the runt burst into their classroom like he owned the place.

Daisuke eyes went directly to Hikari’s usual seat at lightning speed hyper focused on his goal. However she wasn’t there, strange… He then proceeded to scan the rest of the classroom, maybe she was on day duty today? But alas there was still no Hikari.

“Daisuke-kun” Daisuke’s eyes snap back to his sempai’s seat and next to it is Iori-sempai. With a confused look Daisuke walked over to the seat. Iori was Hikari’s friend and Daisuke supposed he liked him, after anybody Hikari was friends with must be as cool as she is! But he’d never really had the chance to talk to Iori before without Hikari there.

“Where’s Hikari-sempai?” He demanded with a pout while shoving his test in front of him, “I passed my test.” Daisuke didn’t mean to sulk but he couldn’t help but feel his mood drop at the lack of Hikari’s presence, he’d been look so forward to showing her.

“Good job!” Iori smiled and patted Daisuke on the head, ruffling up his already messy hair. The younger kid felt fire in his stomach as he pushed the older boys hand away.

“Argh! I’m not a baby!” He huffed and glared up at the tall fifth grader as he laughed a ‘sure a full grown adult right here’. Ugh! Daisuke changed his mind; older kids other than Hikari were the worst! She’s the only person that takes him seriously!

Iori sobers from his brief mirth at Daisuke’s expense, “Ah, Hikari wasn’t feeling well so she’s in the nurse’s office.” He’d been worried about Hikari since he saw her off during lunch but his friend was a strong girl so he was sure she was fine, just needed to some rest, “I’m on my way to go see her, do you wanna come wi—” there’s a slam as the small kid slams the door shut, running at top speeds to the nurses office.

Iori is left in the dust of the hyperactive boys speed.

“Ah… I guess I’ll just go catch up with him” he laughs softly as he grabs his book bag and leisurely heads out the door, saying good bye to his classmates along the way.

There’s no need to hurry after all, everything is just fine.

 

 

 

 

 

Centarumon’s singular red eye is locked on Tailmon.

Shit, Tailmon had been cornered by the weaker digimon and now she was face to face with a formidable foe. She curses under her breath as she quickly dodged his crazed stomping of hoofs.

Poor Centarumon, she’d heard how he’d been once afflicted by one of the black gears in the past… now here he is being possessed again. When were the innocent lives in the digital world going to be given a break? Tailmon grits her teeth as she braces herself from a hit she’s not able to dodge in time, ah that’s probably because life isn’t fair. Tailmon’s small frame is slammed into the tree behind her. Life doesn’t automatically get better once you fix one problem. More grief and heartbreak are sure to follow in the future.

Tailmon scurries to her feet and leaps into the air to avoid Centarumon’s next attack.

Life is bitter with some short intervals of happiness afterall.

Tailmon descends with a kick.

 

 

 

 

 

“What are you up to today, my lady?” Hawkmon’s voice breaks the silence in the dark and cold room. The Kaiser has been fiddling with something she’d picked up in the ruins early that morning since she’d returned this afternoon.

As much as Hawkmon wasn’t a fan of his ladies ‘expeditions’ he couldn’t help but appreciate the aftermath of them, when the Kaiser was fiddling with something new she’d discovered was always the time she looked the most alive, happiest if Hawkmon dared say. It was different to how she’d laugh when watching her army ‘kick ass’ (her words), this was a silent happiness, one not based in the cruelty that she found amusement in, but something softer and based in fascination.

If conquering the digital world could give he these moments Hawkmon would readily sell his soul to the devil.

She grinned as she turned around; on her desk was a large tomb full with digicode that Hawkmon couldn’t read and her large computer she was using to analyze the data before her. “Hawkmon! I think I just discovered something!”

Hawkmon placed the tea he’d prepared for her on the counter as he looked up at his partner, “Oh, and what is that?”

Miyako looked down at the letters with her grin, but her eyes were set in determination.

“A way to set myself free...” the words felt cold in the digimons stomach but he hoped that was true, “I’ve just got to play around just a bit more but I think I almost got it.” The grin turns a bit vicious as she looks up at her screen.

“Got what my lady?”

Miyako stands victoriously from her throne, on the screen there’s a loading bar that’s just started.

 

 

 

 

 

Hikari if anything felt _worse_ after waking up. Her head was splitting as she stood up out of bed. She breathed heavily as she grabbed the edge of the bed for support.

This… was bad…

Her vision was getting blurry and breathing was hard and Hikari was sweating. She was pretty sure she had a fever of some sort and under normal conditions she would dutifully keep herself in bed.

But… today was different.

Something was different in the air and it was urgent.

It felt like she could hear something screaming, thousands of faint voiced crying out. Hikari couldn’t ignore it.

She had to… she had to go help them…

Hikari stumbles away from the bed and unsteadily grabs her bag. She’s got to go…

Her steps feels like she’s trailing through mud as she reaches the hallway, and the walls start to feel harsher, like they’re scratching at her hands instead. She can feel something shifting, something electric.

 

 

 

 

 

Koushirou was in the computer lab. Even though he had graduated he ended up visiting his old computer club quite often to help out with updating the software and the like. It was kind of out of his way but it’s not like he minded that much, on these days he’d often walk home with Hikari and meet up with Taichi to help him study to keep his grades up when they got to their place. He enjoyed the free food and despite his best friend being difficult at times he enjoyed hanging out with him anyway.

He looked at his d-terminal again wondering when Hikari was going to reply. He always sent her a message asking her if she wanted to walk home together and they’d often walk home with her and her friend Hida Iori and her excitable underclassman Motimiya Daisuke (when Taichi learned of this usual arrangement he’d almost demanded that Koushirou accompany them whenever he could, ‘to keep a watch on them’ as he would say). But today Hikari had never replied to the message, leaving the older boy a bit worried. Hikari was always a cheerful girl and she always replied to messages in a timely manner.

Koushirou sighed, he guessed he couldn’t always expect her to be the opposite of her brother; sometimes her carelessness would shine through just as bright as it did with her brother. A family resemblance if you will.

Still he wondered if she was alright…

Koushirou leaned back as he waited for the antivirus software to update and sighed. By this time there were already a bunch of people in this room, seemingly drawn like moths to Hikari’s flame. Not that Koushirou liked being surrounded by a lot of people so much as he was unexpectedly bored. Usually there was something more to pay attention to during his routine maintenance then watching a loading bar.

But maybe he was lucky this time. An almost imperceptible glitch on the screen immediately directed his attention.

“What the…?” He muttered softly as he sat back up in his seat, fingers like magnets to the keyboard.

And in a moment that felt so painfully nostalgic Koushirou watched as the screen glitch snowballed from minor to all the technology around him going crazy.

The clock started spinning out of control on the wall, the screens display opened random programs and shut them just as fast as nonsense numbers and letters ran past in place of the usual, and the beeping of the technology went haywire.

It was a terrifying sight for a technophile such as Koushirou as well as one he hadn’t seen in a long time, not since two years ago and Diabormon’s rampage.

“…” the fire alarm in the school sets off, “…I need to get Taichi.”

 

 

 

 

 

Everything will be fine, yeah, right. Iori says as the fire alarm screeches in his ear and nearly deafens him. His pace quickens as he rushes to the infirmary, if they have to evacuate the building Hikari’s probably going to need some help.

He turns the corner to the hall where his destination is at and spots Hikari stumbling down the hall weakly.

Just fine…?

He quickens his pace but his feet feel slow to him.

He sees an eager Daisuke pop out of the infirmary out of breath and run after the girl.

Iori tries to take another step, like he’s drudging his feet through molasses.

He tries to say something.

Hikari glitches.

He takes another step forward as it seems like time and space is warping in front of him.

Daisuke almost reaches her.

“Hi-” Iori chokes out.

And in a blink of the eye… they disappear.

Iori’s foot lands and time seems to speed up all at once. He stumbles forward at the sheer force he’d been exerting earlier and he stares at the empty hallway. No way… Obviously he was just seeing things. People can’t just disappear like that, like they had never existed there in the first place. Noise fills his ears all of a sudden as the crowd of students swarm around him to exit the building, the fire alarm still at a deafening pitch. The crowd replaces the empty hallway and Iori watches, the only thing still in the herd of children.

Everything was just… fine…

 

 

 

 

 

Hikari blinks as she looks down at her feet. Instead of _feeling_ like she was in mud she _actually was_ in mud. She looked to her right to the wall she was leaning on to find that it as in fact a tree.

She looks up to the speckled sky of the digital world.

Hikari breathes as she stands up on her own strength feeling solid for the first time today, like she was whole.

She was in the digital world.

She was… free.

She didn’t know whether to feel scared or excited.

“Where are we…?”

Hikari whips her head to the small voice behind her.

In the mud she wandered into was the nine year old Daisuke looking small, terrified, and unsure.

Terrified, she was definitely terrified.

**Author's Note:**

> Is it obvious that i got really tired of writing near the end?
> 
> Okay in case anyone is confused:  
> Iori is older  
> Daisuke is the kid  
> Takeru goes to Ken's school  
> So does Miyako and she's also the Kaiser  
> Hikari is gonna be the bamf main character even though i made her weak and sick this whole chapter
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!!! Please tell me what you think! Promise the next chapter will be more action heavy! conflict! drama!
> 
> Please give me your feedback! Did you like it? Hate it? Thought it was horribly out of character? I made some horrible typos?? Ideas or wishes for stuff to happen in the next chapter?
> 
> Also feel free to message me @ burbiart on tumblr or xburbs on twitter!


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